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Chrysanthemums, commonly known as mums, are synonymous with fall. Throw in some pumpkins, corn stalks and a scarecrow, and you’ve got yourself the quintessential quartet of the autumn decorating palette. These fall-blooming perennials go with autumn like pumpkin spice to your latte and candy corn to your trick or treat.
Chrysanthemum means “gold blossom” in Greek, and the plants are native to Asia. They are thought to originally have been cultivated in China and have been in recorded history since the 15th century. Today there are more than 20,000 cultivars. Wow!
The Japanese are also devoted chrysanthemum growers; they hold a sacred festival annually honoring the flower and its rich history. The Japanese emperor sits on the Chrysanthemum Throne, and the Imperial Seal of Japan displays a chrysanthemum. Closer to home, Col. John Stevens imported mums from England in the late 1700s, bringing them onto the American horticultural scene.
All over the world, Nov. 1 is celebrated as All Saints’ Day. Also known as All Hallows’ Day, it is preceded by All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) and is known among Catholics as the Feast of All Saints. Finding its origins mainly in France, it is traditionally known as La Toussaint — French for All Saints’ Day. This day is celebrated in many European countries as well as the United States.
This day is a time for families to pay respect to their deceased relatives. Across the parishes of Louisiana, you often can see families gathering at cemeteries to clean and decorate tombs. Families traditionally bring fresh flowers — especially mums — to the graves of departed loved ones because they are available that time of year.
Mums are perennial flowering plants that are divided into two groups: garden-hardy and exhibition types. The names indicate their use in the landscape and for their showy blooms, respectively.
The garden-hardy types are used in landscape settings and are profuse bloomers. Flowers come in several forms such as pompons, buttons and daisy-like. There are many hybrids and thousands of cultivars, and they are available in an array of colors such as yellow, orange, white, purple, burgundy, peach and pink. The exhibition types are as their name implies — large-blooming, or spray types, that can be used in hanging baskets and other interesting forms.
The U.S. National Chrysanthemum Society divides the blooms into 13 categories including ray, disk, ogiku, pompon, spider form and anemone form, just to name a few.
With all these choices, it’s hard to know where to start. Go for what you like, but please practice restraint when purchasing mums. Consider the amount of bloom time you want to get from your plant. The best selection for an extended flower time is a plant that is full of buds that are not yet open. It is hard not to buy the fully blooming plants — I know.
If you are looking for that instant gratification and want plants blooming for a gathering now, go for those plants in full bloom. Otherwise, bite your lip and buy the one with buds that have not yet opened. When purchasing garden mums, be sure to consider varieties that will bloom in the early, middle and later parts of the season.
According to retired extension specialist Allen Owings, two-toned bicolor flowers have been recently introduced, and the Prophet series of garden mums is popular. The varieties include Jessica, Marilyn, Kimberly, Stacy, Tracy, Linda, Lisa, Lynn, Marilyn, Nicole, Cheryl, Allison and other feminine names.
For planting in the landscape, put in a well-drained, sunny spot, and make the spacing 24 inches apart to keep plants compact and dense. Use a complete slow-release fertilizer or liquid fertilizer after planting.
As with all bed plantings, to effectively control weeds, retain moisture and provide organic material such as a 1- to 2-inch layer of pine straw, pine bark mulch, leaf litter or other mulch. Because fall typically is dry in Louisiana, be aware that a lack of water on garden mums delays flowering and slows — and could ultimately stop — growth. This could increase susceptibility to disease and pest problems. It’s important to avoid overhead irrigation on mums and be sure to water around the outer root area of the plant (the dripline). Soaking garden mums at the base of each plant could result in stem rot problems.
Mums are like poinsettias, Christmas cactus, Easter lilies and other seasonal plants in that after the holiday ends, they are often tossed out when decorations get stored for the next year. However, you can keep mums going in the garden as perennial plants if you keep them evenly watered, but not waterlogged, through the winter, prune them lightly between late winter and mid-spring the following year and fertilize them lightly in the spring with a slow-release fertilizer.
Come fall, the shorter days will signal them to begin flowering again, and the cycle starts all over. Isn’t it great? I love the changing of seasons, even if in Louisiana our year often feels like just one long, hot summer.

Central Catholic did nearly everything coach Tommy Minton could ask in Thursday’s homecoming game at Tiger Stadium in Morgan City.
Central Catholic (4-3 overall, 2-0 in district) won for the third straight week with Thursday’s 49-0 victory.
The game originally was scheduled for Friday but was moved up a day due to the threat of inclement weather.
Central Catholic took an early 14-0 lead and got the running game going while the defense was dominant.
Hugh Hamer and Davidyione Bias combined to help Central Catholic grab the early lead. Hamer broke free for a 79-yard run down to the Covenant Christian 1-yard on the Eagles’ third play from scrimmage. Bias scored on the next play for a 7-0 Central Catholic lead with 11:01 remaining in the opening quarter.
After a Lions’ punt, Bias added a 5-yard score with 2:40 remaining in the opening period for a 14-0 Eagles lead. Covenant Christian (2-6, 0-2) had two first downs in the first quarter.
“I thought the offensive line did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage,” Minton said. “We had a ton of chunk plays in the running game, and I thought our quarterback (Ryan Miller) ran really hard tonight and all the backs ran hard.”
Multiple Eagles scored touchdowns in Thursday’s victory.
In the second quarter, Bias added a 10-yard touchdown run with 6:18 remaining as he and Hamer added big runs.
Central Catholic ended the first half with a big sack by Trent Hillen.
“Defensively, we controlled the line of scrimmage,” Minton said. “Every now and then they would pop a trap for 8 or 9 yards, and that was OK. Overall, I thought we did a good job of tackling and controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”
Central Catholic out-gained Covenant Christian 274 total yards (247 rushing and 27 passing) to 70 total yards (67 rushing and 3 passing) at halftime.
The second half was much like the first with Covenant Christian’s offense shooting itself in the foot with penalties. The Lions finished with 11 penalties for 105 yards.
Hamer added a 14-yard score with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter to extend the Eagles’ lead to 28-0.
Central Catholic’s Ethan Majewski recovered a Covenant Christian fumble leading to Miller’s 9-yard score with just 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter for a 35-0 lead.
Bias finished the game with eight carries for 104 yards and three touchdowns, while Hamer had 12 carries for 117 yards and two scores. Damondrick Blackburn added 77 yards on 12 carries.
Central Catholic finished with 410 yards of offense (383 yards rushing and 27 yards passing), while Covenant Christian managed just 148 total yards (145 rushing and 3 passing).
Central Catholic will continue District 8-1A play Nov. 1 when it travels to New Iberia to face Highland Baptist.
Additional reporting by KWBJ TV 22.

A change in routine did little to stop St. James High School from giving a dominating performance against the Berwick Panthers Thursday night.
With torrential rains predicted for Friday, St. James and Berwick agreed to play their District 9-3A game one day early to avoid the bad weather.
While the Wildcats had to overcome some shaky snaps that led to somewhat of a slow start on offense, the Wildcats’ defense was suffocating the Panthers from start to finish.
The St. James offense eventually did find its rhythm behind three touchdown passes by quarterback Shamar Smith in the first half and went on to a 45-0 win over Berwick at Wildcat Stadium.
To say the Panthers struggled against St. James defenders would be an understatement as the No. 1-ranked Wildcats (8-0 overall, 3-0 in district) held Berwick (3-5, 1-2) to just two first downs and minus 4 yards rushing for the entire game.
“We just had some problems with our snaps, but defensively, we did a great job,” St. James coach Robert Valdez said. “We had a great game plan, and we kept them off-balanced. We stayed home and took away a lot of their checks. Offensively, we had some opportunities for some big plays, but our rhythm was off with some bad snaps. But we had some things we wanted to do and work on, but our biggest thing was coming out fast and setting a tone and we did that. We still have some things to work on, and to be 8-0 and have room for improvement is not a bad thing.
“It was shorter, and you plan to play Friday, but we decided to move the game,” Valdez said. “But there is no excuse, and it is still fundamental football. We just need to fix some things like our snaps. But we have a free Friday night. We have now to enjoy it, and we get back to work on Monday.”
St. James seemed to take an early lead without running an offensive play when Smith returned a punt 51 yards for an apparent touchdown. However, a penalty wiped out the play, giving the Wildcats possession at their 27. Seven plays later, the drive stalled, leading to a 24-yard field goal by Alec Mahler for a 3-0 lead with 8:09 showing in the first quarter.
The next three possessions for St. James belonged to Smith and his receivers as he found three different pass catchers for scores and a 24-0 lead.
Smith hooked up with Logan Gravois on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Then, he and Shazz Preston connected on a 21-yard scoring play with 3:58 left in the first quarter. On the following possession, Smith found Kaden Williams on a 39-yard touchdown pass for the 24-0 lead with 11:06 remaining on the second-quarter clock.
Smith, who also had a 63-yard punt return called back for a penalty later in the second quarter, finished the game 7-of-11 passing for 165 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 10 times for 68 yards and two more scores.
After Smith’s second apparent punt return for a touchdown was called back, the Wildcats closed the first half with a 30-yard touchdown run by Sean Lebeouf for a 31-0 halftime lead. Lebeouf finished the game with 12 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown.
On their first two possessions of the third quarter, the Wildcats got touchdown runs of 1 and 32 yards by Smith for a 45-0 lead with 7:20 on the clock.
From that point on, St. James went deep into its bench, but its defense remained stout as Berwick managed just 20 yards of offense compared to 346 by the Wildcats.
“Hats off to them, and they are a talented group and there is a good reason why they are No. 1 in the state right now,” Panthers coach Mike Walker said. “We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. We had a few stops defensively, but we couldn’t capitalize offensively.
“It was a miracle that we held them to 45, because they are fast,” Walker added. “When you watch them on film, they are fast, and on the carpet, they are much faster. Anytime you prepare to play on Friday and you move it up, it isn’t ideal, but both teams had to deal with it so no excuses either way.
Berwick will return to action Nov. 1 when it hosts E.D. White in District 9-3A action.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Renois is a sports correspondent for The Houma Courier. Additional reporting by Review Sports Editor Geoff Stoute.